5.7: Vocabulary

To have been endorsed or approved officially. Undergraduate engineering programs are accredited when they meet the standards of a national board, Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).

Artifact

Something created or modified by humans usually for a practical purpose.

Component

A distinct part or element of a larger system.

Constraint

A constraint is a limitation or condition that must be satisfied by a design.

Criterion

A criterion is a measurable standard or attribute of a design; for example, weight and size are both criteria. Criteria are used to compare different possible designs and determine which better solve the design problem.

Engineer

someone who uses scientific and mathematical knowledge to solve practical problems and produce goods and processes for the benefit of society.

Engineering design process

“the process of devising a system, component, or process to meet desired needs. It is a decision-making process (often iterative), in which the basic sciences, mathematics, and the engineering sciences are applied to convert resources optimally to meet these stated needs.” (ABET)

Implement

To successfully put into action or carry out to completion.

Innovation

The process of incrementally or radically modifying an existing product, system, or process to improve it.

Integrated circuit

An electronic circuit of transistors etched onto a small piece of silicon which is sometimes referred to as a microchip.

Invent

To come up with a new, useful, and nonobvious idea, plan, explanation, theory, principle, novel device, material, or technique which is a creation of the mind.

Invention

A new and useful device, method, or process developed from study and experimentation.

Iterative

Repetitive or cyclical. The engineering design process involves the completion of project tasks or phases in repetitive cycles until a desired result is achieved.

Mathematical model

The quantitative general characterization of a process, object, or concept, in terms of mathematics, which enables relatively simple manipulation of variables in order to determine how a process, object, or concept would behave in different situations.

Prerequisite

Something required beforehand.

Phenomenon

An observable fact or event; an outward sign of working of a law of nature.

Prototype

A trial working model of a design that is built to test design decisions and identify potential problems.